Nov 30

Troutapalooza Trip on The Bow River 2019

The Annual Troutapalooza Trip 2019

What is normally a three to four day fishing extravaganza with my good friend Rob Clarke and his son Ben, in late July or early August, we only had one day this year for what we call our “Troutapalooza” yearly fishing trip. For those of you who read the Blog frequently, you would have seen our pictures of our overnight camping and fishing adventures the past few years. Rob, Ben and I normally camp on an island of the Bow River and fish hard for three consecutive days. Unfortunately with Rob’s work schedule, we were unable to do the four day trip this year. One day is better than no days I always say.

Rob and Ben arrived Thursday evening from Edmonton and we all gathered for dinner the night before our trip. I knew exactly where the fish were from previous guided fishing trips the weeks before. Over dinner and some laughs, we discussed how close to the bank the fish were holding and what kinds of baits the fish were taking. We only had one day so I wanted to maximize our time on the river! After strategizing our day over some delicious Vietnamese fare, we planned to be up early (4:30Am) and on our way to McKinnon Flats by 5Am. The Explorer Industry jet boat was all gassed up and ready to roll without having to make any morning stops on the way to the boat launch. After we finished our meal, I dropped Rob and Ben back off at the nearby hotel and headed home to get a good night’s rest, excited and prepared for the next morning.

My alarm woke me at 4Am and over to the coffee pot I immediately headed. I need copious amounts of coffee at that hour of the morning or I don’t function properly! Shortly after consuming my first java, Rob and Ben rolled up to my house, promptly loading their gear into my truck. I loaded up my thermos with more coffee before heading out the door to pick up the jet boat. We hooked up the boat in record time and off we headed into the early morning dusk.

As the sun was peeking over the East horizon, it cast glows of red and orange hues onto the wheat fields on either side of the highway. After the short drive from my place to the boat launch at Mac, we backed the boat up to the river’s edge and prepared our rods with the morning offerings of Rapala Countdown’s. I chose a traditional (G) for Gold; Rob tied up a (BT) Brown Trout for himself and the (RT) Rainbow Trout pattern for his son Ben. I slowly backed the jet boat into the river and off we went, happy and excited for the day’s adventure.

Please have a look at the video footage of our stellar “Troutapalooza” full day fishing trip. We landed some incredible fish and we all had a complete blast out there on the Bow River. If you are in or around the Edmonton area and are looking for fishing supplies, please head over to the south side Fishin’ Hole and see Rob. Rob is the assistant manager of the store and will be happy to help you with all your outdoor fishing needs.

I am very grateful Rob and Ben come visit me each and every year for this epic fishing trip. I am deeply honored and privileged to call you both my friends.

~Mike

Oct 14

Happy Thanksgiving from my home to yours.

I woke up this morning one year older, and hopefully copiously wiser. It is sometimes hard to believe that I have been on the planet forty seven years now, but every time I look at my driver’s licence I am starkly reminded. It is Thanksgiving here in Canada today! I awoke grateful and thankful for another day alive. I have kept myself physically fit since I was a young teenager. I have always been athletic; involved in all types of sports including hockey, baseball and golf. When I was a pre-teen, I wanted to become a golf professional but that gave way to what I believe was my ultimate calling, a fisherman and fishing guide.

Since the creation of my blog, and the start of my fishing journey, I have met many beautiful people in and out of the fishing industry who have helped me and my business succeed. I would like to pay homage to those people here in this post and say a heartfelt thank you for all you have done for me and continue to do for me. I would like you to know that I appreciate your time, I appreciate your help but most of all, I appreciate you in my life! I was taught to surround myself with the best people possible, people who love and support one another and have a positive outlook on life and the future. The folks who have learned from the past, and go forth, setting a great example of how to live life to the fullest each and every day! I am humbly thankful for you all!

“Go forth into the busy world and love it. Interest yourself in its life, mingle kindly with its joys and sorrows.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson. It took a lot of courage to start this Blog and to embark on this journey. Today I understand that courage is something I develop. Each time I go through an experience that stretches me, each time I hold my own feet to the fire, each time I discipline myself and hold myself to a slightly higher standard than before, I grow inside, I get a little bit stronger, I strengthen my own courage and resolve to meet the next challenge.

To my dear friend Brent Truitt, thank you for teaching me how to blog and create websites with no prior knowledge of the internet or web skills. I was as green as the grass grows so to speak. We sat at your home for many hours drinking coffee as you sat and taught me how to become “The authority” in my niche, as you stated. I am very thankful for your time and patience.

To Dwayne Parsons, who found my blog in its infancy and graciously offered his help editing my blog posts for no cost. My writing was sub-par at that time to put it mildly. Dwayne would receive my articles via email and put what he called “The shoe polish” on them. Once the polish was applied, send them back to me edited, ready to publish. I would like to think my articles are more “polished” then they once were and that I have grown as a writer. I am thankful for you!

To each and every one of my clients who hired my service at the start of my guiding career, a huge heartfelt thank you for believing in me! To those who continue to hire me each and every year, I am eternally grateful and I thank you so very much.

To Greg S, and Andrew G, for offering my very first sponsorship in the fishing industry! When I first opened Greg’s email, I almost fell off my chair when it listed eight amazing tackle manufactures in this sponsorship. I worked very hard on my Blog and it was extremely rewarding to receive this offer. I went on to do several Calgary Boat and Sportsman’s shows to promote this sponsorship deal. I am honored and thankful you picked me to promote your business and the products you represent! I thank you both so very much!

To Mr. Steve Gower, it has been a huge blessing for me to get to know you since we met at the Calgary Boat show many moons ago. You my friend are one of the most amazing human beings on planet earth. I will forever cherish what you have done, and continue to do for myself personally, and my business. Every time I get to have you on the boat, it is an honor, and a true privilege my dear friend. We have forged a very close friendship over the years, fishing and laughing many, many days away. I have been your “Net man” for some amazing trophy trout. I would not trade those memories for anything in the world. I thank you for those late night calls, chatting for hours on end! I thank you for lending an ear when I need to talk with someone. I thank you for your gracious heart and beautiful soul, but most of all; I thank you for our amazing friendship!

To Rob Clarke, thanks for always having my back everywhere I go. It is a true blessing to have you in my life. I am humbled you come down from Edmonton and fish with me every year. “Troutapalooza” is always the highlight of my summer! I am thankful you chose me to create memories with you and your son Ben.

Thank you all for reading the Blog post here today. I hope you are all having an amazing turkey dinner with your loved ones and friends. For my birthday today, the BEST present a guy could receive is YOU.

~Mike

Sep 15

Fall, Fatties and Fishin’ the Bow River

September Fishing the Bow River

It’s been another completely stellar September going after monster browns and rainbows on the Bow River again this fishing season. It is always the main goal of mine to put clients onto the best possible fish the river has to offer. With water temperatures cooling down, it only means that the Sport fishing gets heated up. On two separate guided night fishing trips, “The after supper special” as I like to call it, my old client John, and new client Tyler, both landed incredible trophy brown trout!

John not only landed one amazing brown, he bagged three deadly brownies. John has been a friend and client of mine for a very long time, and has always done well on every outing. I was extremely happy to see John get rewarded with some of the Bow River’s finest specimens. Great work as always Johnny!

Tyler joined up with Ali to make an evening twosome which was their first time taking a guided trip with me. After a few fish in the top half of the trip, Tyler tied on a CST D-Contact slim and fired that heavy offering into the middle of the river. After twitching his lure several times and letting it flutter back down to the bottom, Tyler’s 9 foot rod loaded up and the fight was on. Immediately after Tyler hooked his fish, it went on an amazing forty yard reel screaming run and had me out of the boat and waist deep in the water in preparation for the landing. After snapping a few quick images, and high fives all around, we let this bruiser go to be caught another day.

It has been another epic September on the Bow River.

~Mike

Aug 23

Brown town and the Osprey

After launching out of Policeman’s Flats on an evening guided fishing trip with Kara and her friend Jeff, we slid down the north bank of the Bow River, casting close in hopes of some big rainbows that hang out in the calm water, close to the bank off the choppy run. As I was instructing Kara and Jeff, I looked over my left shoulder to see an osprey circling and looking down into the water. I could clearly tell this bird was hungry, spotting a fish below the other side of the island we were on. I said to Kara, “Look at that bird circling over there”. Kara turned her head to the left and stared at the bird for a few seconds while I rotated the boat left to get a better look at what was going on. As the boat floated lower down and closer to the tip of the island, the bird spooked and flew off into the setting sunlight. I asked Kara and Jeff to reel in their lines, as I wanted to drive up the other side of the island exactly where the osprey was circling. I hammered the throttle and rounded the tip of the island moving up river swiftly. I slowly let off the throttle and let the boat drift letting both Kara and Jeff know precisely where to put their lures.

We made one drift with no bites and no signs of fish. I was confident there was at least one fish in that location, as the osprey was on the hunt for something. I asked Jeff to sit down as I hammered the throttle down again heading back up the river for another pass. As the boat came to a halt, Kara took the top of the chute and Jeff took the middle. As soon as Kara’s Live Target lure hit the river, this monster male brown slammed hold and took her for a reel screaming ride down the river. Kara did an impeccable job keeping her rod tip high and steady pressure on the fish. I landed this muscleman into the net with cheers of delight.

I guess it pays off to follow your gut instincts and the circling osprey! We all had a fantastic evening landing many great fish, but none like old “mac daddy” brown, which was Kara’s personal best brown trout. I would like to thank each and every one who took guided “after supper special” trips with me this year. We landed and released some amazing fish once again this season. It was my honor and pleasure to guide you this year!

~Mike